Life of a perpetual traveler (the crypto lifestyle)
Hello, friends!
Finally some nice volatility back in the market, and this time we’re moving upwards.
Feels like it’s just a matter of time before the $BTC spot ETF will be approved and the start of a new bull run. At least, let’s cross our fingers for that.
Today I wanted to talk about something called perpetual traveling, this is of course a very crypto related theme, and something I am deeply interested about.
Perpetual Travelling is the art of being stateless without losing your rights as a world citizen.
A perpetual traveller is a person who thinks differently.
One of the great problems for the majority of people is that they try to achieve something special by doing the same as everyone else. This, of course, is challenging.
A normal person goes to university, earns their degrees, does internships and later passes entrance exams or applies for a job and waits to be chosen out of hundreds of candidates.
A perpetual traveller turns things on its head; they don’t play by the rules. They start their own company, invest the money that they earn, if they can’t do what they want in the place they’re living, then they go somewhere else and, of course, if the state is suffocating their business with regulations and taxes, then they simply move it elsewhere…
A Perpetual Traveller has the advantage of geoarbitrage.
Geoarbitrage is all about making the most of the features of different zones/countries around the world.
Obviously you don’t have to leave your home country to start a business, but I think what’s appealing to me is that there is some freedom in being a soverign individual.
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Life of a perpetual traveler (the crypto lifestyle)
Global availability to the internet, remote work, and advanced IT technology and infrastructure invite for a group of digital nomads to travel and work simultaneously.
Outsourcing to low-income countries furthered the idea of location-independent work. It allowed young professionals and other creative minds to serve their customers from abroad.
Like-minded travelers could become part of a community stimulating synergy and co-working.
But as I said in the intro, today I want to talk about something called perpetual travel.
A perpetual traveler is someone who travels, permanently — or at least permanently enough so that they are not tax resident anywhere, or only in jurisdictions that lack income tax or only tax local income.
A typical PT runs a location-independent business or has income from investments. They will travel from one country to the next, often using just tourist visas or, in the case of EU nationals and comparable international agreements, traveling across country borders completely unhindered.
In a global setting and a borderless society, productive and creative people can optimize individual sovereignty. By maintaining a high quality of life, one can seek the most appropriate location to live and work. As such, negative aspects of a geographic location can be reduced and even eliminated by making wise choices to (temporary) settle down.
Perpetual traveling is a philosophy, a way to manage life so to speak. A perpetual traveler also referred to as the PT, identifies locations that are best fit for purpose. In line with the flag theory, the PT does not limit his potential by geographical borders but merely establishes the important parts of life at the most righteous and fair location.
'The foundation of the PT lies in freedom and prosperity. Both concepts have individual and subjective definitions that consider personal identity and private sovereignty as the core of being.
Perpetual traveling does not necessarily mean that traveling is the foundation of one’s life. It merely addresses a philosophy for personal sovereignty where individuals see globalization and a borderless society as their route to maximum freedom.
Perpetual traveling involves countries and locations best fit for its objectives. As such, the legal and administrative requirements are paramount when strategizing ones life.
A PT aims for a stress-free and relaxing lifestyle. Where restrictions and limitations do not contribute to the overall objective, they should be set aside.
However, flexibility and mobility allow the subject to constantly stay on the safe side of the law. The PT is not an outlaw and does not violate local regulations or other rules.
Perpetual travelers and digital nomads see the world as a borderless environment. They seek to establish their life and business where it fit best.
What about taxes?
Taxation is legitimized by governments to finance public expenses. As such individuals and corporations are subject to various charges. Residency, employment, and financial holdings create a tax liability.
Some countries welcome foreigners as residents as part of their strategy to support local spending. This may include the provision of residence permits and even passports. As a perpetual traveler or digital nomad, you may be subject to personal and corporate income tax in different countries. This is not something to take lightly. Optimization of life includes the appropriate tools for personal finances to limit governmental scrutiny and ultimately penalties that can be avoided.
Location-independent workers sometimes experience challenges when it comes to double taxation. Tax treaties and exemptions are available but sometimes need to be triggered. As such, tax residency, company formation, and financial management are the backbone of proper personal administration.
Since taxation for nomads and perpetual travelers has multiple cross-border effects, local advice might be insufficient. Therefore, advanced financial planning involves a closer look into the locations where the individual lives and works to ultimately create the most appropriate administrative structure.
The excessive rise of digital nomads triggered several governments to create special arrangements for these groups. The Estonian e-residency program and the personal tax residency program in Cyprus are examples of such initiatives. However, both do not necessarily allow the individual a temporary or permanent establishment in the country.
Most countries in Europe have a double tax treatment that says something about which country you should tax to. Let’s say you’re from Italy, but work online from Portugal. The double tax agreement says you must tax where you have the strongest business and personal interests. If you own properties in Italy, you can forget about becoming a low-tax resident in Portugal. Because your “personal interests” of owning properties in Italy count as something you have a strong interest in, and if you’re renting it out it should count as a business too. My point is just that you shouldn’t expect this to be an easy set up.
Over the years, while protection domestic sovereignty, geographical borders slowly fade away. Among others, holiday makers, business people, and fortune seekers utilize the potential, accessibility, and availability of other countries.
The internet and further information overload allow these very people to investigate and prepare for trips to remote areas all around the world. To optimize life and business, one can penetrate different global markets and find a location best fit for its purpose.
Quality-driven life management
The theory behind perpetual traveling describes a philosophy of quality-driven life management. The somewhat Libertarian philosophy prioritizes personal freedom and limits bureaucracy and restrictions on personal liberty. As such, the philosophy of the perpetual traveler triggers efficiency, creativity, prosperity and independence. It is important to realize that PT is a theoretical philosophy and that individual circumstances and preferences determine the roadmap to life management.
The PT identifies and isolates important sectors in life. A logical next step is to find the most appropriate location to utilize the individual sectors without any limitations or boundaries. Since the world is at your feet, the life of a PT is diversified over different countries and even continents. A potential downside of the philosophy is that social benefits considered normal by the public do not apply to the PT.
So to summarize:
Perpetual Travellers are, as they sound – individuals who are constantly on the move.
Perpetual Travellers are mostly interested in individual sovereignty, that they in and of themselves are “enough”. They are independent of any location or group of individuals that they were born into – that they didn’t actively choose to be part of.
The theory many PTs go by is that most countries treat tourists far better than their own citizens, so rather than becoming a resident or a citizen in a country, they remain a tourist everywhere they go.
PTs typically subscribe to something called ‘Flag Theory’, where basing different aspects of their life in different countries and not spending too long in any one country enables them to escape from the many obligations of being a resident.
The concept of flag theory began in the 1964 novel, “How to Keep Your Money and Your Freedom“ by Harry D Shultz.
Taxes are also an important part of the equation of why it makes sense to live in a different country.
In my country, if you are ranked as a high-income individual (over $100k) you easily have to pay 50% income tax. This means that if you earn let’s say $400k per year, $200k goes to Uncle Sam. Yes, this is the price of living in a welfare state. But a rough price to pay IMO. In Norway, we also have something called wealth tax, which is, as far as I know, the only country in the world that has this.
1.1% of your net wealth is taxed every year. It may seem like a small thing, but my point is that your salary is easily cut in half by taxes, and digital nomads who want to be financially secure faster could probably enjoy living in a country with more “friendly” taxes. This comes at another cost though. Because not everybody wants to live in another country, and leaving friends and family can be not something that is worth it to you. If you feel like you’re giving up on life just to save money, then you’re doing it wrong IMO.
I’ve considered Portugal which is tax-free for crypto as long as trading isn’t your main income. Therefore probably not suitable for full-time traders, but more so for people working in the industry. Probably some loopholes that I don’t know about, so worth checking out. Also, they have an NHR visa which makes foreign income tax-free for 10 years (they made a deadline to end this by 2023 btw). Decent for digital nomads. Great weather and relatively cheap too. Lots of other places like eg. Dubai, but I’m not sure about the lifestyle over there. Not a place I want to live, however, could probably work as a base and live somewhere else. For now, still residing in Scandinavia.
So Route, why are you talking about all this? Do you want to leave or what’s the thing?
There are days when I just want to escape from everything, just leave my country and start all over again somewhere else. I don’t know where this feeling is coming from, because I feel that I am happy and content with where I am. But there is something freeing about just going somewhere new, knowing no one, and just vibing. It’s not that I’m looking to get to know a lot of new people. I already have some quality friends. Actually, I’m perfectly fine with traveling alone, and most often that’s what I prefer. Because then I can meet people when I want to, and spend time in my own company the rest of the time. Maybe you’ve heard about solitude, but if not, it means being alone (but in a positive tone). It’s not the same as lonely which is the uncomfortable state of being alone.
Being a digital nomad means that you can be where you want when you want, with whom you want, and do whatever you want at all times. The ultimate freedom. Another aspect I like about it is that you have a limited set of belongings with you. You’re free of things. You have your backpack and/or your suitcase, and that’s it. Having lots of things stresses me. It clutters my mind so that I can’t focus on reading, writing, spending time with friends, etc.
Anyway, traveling is something I really enjoy. I don’t do anything special when I’m out traveling. I don’t go and see tourist things anymore, maybe if it’s a hidden gem without tourists. But maybe not even then do I have the interest of seeing these things.
There’s a quote that I like that goes something along the line of:
“A tourist sees what he has planned. A traveler sees what he sees”.
Another aspect of freedom is the typical 9-5 life that I am not very fan of.
If you ask me how much I remember from 2016 - 2021 I could mention some vacation trips I was at with my ex-GF, some weddings, and that my family dog died. Other than that I mostly worked.
If you ask me what I remember from 2021 - 2023 on the other hand there’s a lot more. Because in this period I’ve been “free”. By free I mean working on my own terms. I’ve been working more than ever before to be honest, but at least on my conditions. I think this is something I and the rest of the crypto community bond on first of all. We’re very interested in freedom and sovereignty. To control our own destiny and to design life in our own way. Meanwhile in a 9-5, if you lose your job, you are on your own. If you don’t have any f*ck you money saved up on the side It could lead to a very stressful and even desperate job hunt. It ends in you taking a job you absolutely hate. There’s always another job of course.
But what if I asked you: “What is your dream job?” What would be your answer? For me, I know that a forced job never is a dream in the first place.
This post is just filled with random thoughts, and to be honest, I miss just writing freely without a certain agenda or with the pressure of coming to a conclusion.
So yeah, there is no conclusion to this post. I’m just thinking out loud. Trying to search for answers by writing about them. I’m in a very happy phase in my life right now
Haven’t posted this personally in a while and this is something that I want to get back to. After all, my point in searching for financial freedom in the first place was so I could just spend my days thinking, reading, and writing. As Nassim Taleb would call it: a Flâneur
Let me know in the comments if you like personal posts like this or if you prefer that I be more strict about my topics.
Have a great weekend!
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Like the personal content. It's how you differentiate yourself. Don't know how many crypto only newsletters I never read. I started being a perpetual traveler after reading Sovereign Man emails by Simon Black. One of his original mentors was Doug Casey. Doug Casey was one of the first people to talk about 5 flag theory.
Great piece man. My plan kinda resonates with this: graduate, then spend my twenties travelling whilst looking for some place immersed in nature to settle down someday.
It seems to me that many digital nomads ultimately end up settling down somewhere as they experience the "traveler loneliness": as you mentioned, you get the ultimate freedom -- do what you want, with whoever you want, whenever you want. But some (most, it seems to me) people can't manage that, and instead end up doing nothing but feeling miserable because they lose sense of community and can't make any long-term friendships as everyone (or you) always ends up travelling somewhere else.
I think i'm being fairly honest with myself by recognizing that i would probably suffer from this as well if i were to travel long-term for decades. But 10 years or so, staying 6 months to a couple years for each place i visit, seems like a dream right now. Looking forward to it, will come back asking for tips since you seem to have some experience in the field :) Cheers